Dulce de Leche Crepes | Crepas Salguero

We have a friend named Jeff Salguero who invested in one of the restaurants and whose family is from Uruguay. He goes to South America regularly, and for years, every time he came back, he would ask why we didn’t have pancakes de dulce de leche on the menu. Dulce de leche, or milk caramel, is the dessert ingredient of choice all over Latin America, and crepes filled with dulce de leche and whipped cream are as common in Uruguay as apple pie is in the United States. Finally, to make Jeff stop asking, we put dulce de leche crepes on the menu at the Greenwich location and named the dessert after him. It took only a few months before customers demanded it at all the other restaurants. That was five years ago. It’s not going anywhere, and Jeff still eats it when he comes for dinner.–Sasa Mahr-Batuz and Andy Pforzheimer

LC Cheater's Dulce de Leche Note

We swoon to dulce de leche. So much so that if we could, we would slink into a vat of it and just revel in it until we were giddy. So it’s probably not a bad thing that it takes 4 hours to magically morph condensed milk into dulce de leche on the stovetop. Though the process isn’t for the impatient, it is as simple as plopping the can in a pot of water and letting it simmer for hours on end. Should you find yourself with a truly insatiable craving that just can’t wait—hey, we’ve been there— look for canned or jarred dulce de leche in most supermarkets, usually not far from the Latin American products.

Directions

Make the dulce de leche

1. Remove the labels from the cans of condensed milk and submerge them in a large pot filled with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to a rapid simmer, and simmer for about 4 hours, adding water as needed. Check often to make sure the cans are always covered with water by at least 1 inch; otherwise they could explode. Remove the cans from the water and let them cool.

Make the crepes batter

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, milk, water, egg, and melted butter. Whisk by hand for about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and whisk for about 2 minutes longer. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and let the crepe batter rest for about 20 minutes.

Make the chocolate sauce

3. Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, or until softened and shiny. The chocolate will not melt completely. Add the cream and coffee and stir until smooth. Set aside at room temperature.

Make the crepes

4. Heat two 9-inch nonstick pans over low heat. If you have seasoned 9-inch crepe pans, use them. Spray lightly with vegetable oil spray and ladle 3 tablespoons crepe batter into the pans. Tip and roll the pans to spread the batter evenly over the bottom of the pans and cook for about 2 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the crepes and cook for 2 minutes longer, or until lightly browned. Lift the crepes from the pans and stack on a plate. These crepes do not stick to one another. Continue cooking the crepes until you have 16. Expect to throw out the first crepe in each pan; this is typical, as anyone who has made crepes or even pancakes knows. The first one never works, and after it has flopped, the pan is seasoned appropriately so that the rest are perfect.

Assemble the crepes and serve

5. Open the cans of boiled condensed milk. The milk will be caramel brown and thick—aka dulce de leche.

6. Place the crepes on a work surface. Spread a thick stripe—about 2 tablespoons— dulce de leche (the boiled condensed milk) down the center of each crepe. Top the dulce de leche with an equal-size stripe whipped cream. Roll the crepes like a cigar and place 2 crepes on each plate.

7. Ladle about 3 tablespoons chocolate sauce over the crepes and serve with the ice cream.